Francesco Liberatore writes, the Financial Times recently reported that the UK Government will create a new regulator, the Digital Markets Unit, to police companies such as Facebook and Google after Brexit. The regulator will be given powers to implement a range of new rules, including an enforceable code of conduct for the biggest groups and greater data accessibility for consumers.

2018 could be a watershed year for the telecommunications industry and EU regulation. Francesco Liberatore Chair of the Brussels Chapter, and associate Matthew Buckwell of Squire Patton Boggs consider the top 10 EU regulatory developments

One of the buzz-phrases in the current privacy debate is “privacy by design” or even, “privacy as a design experience”. The essence of this, logically enough, is that privacy should be “designed-in” to a service or product from the outset, rather than have to be bolted on afterwards once the implications have become clear.

There has been much discussion recently about the obligations of major internet players, particularly social media networks, to make more strenuous efforts to monitor the activity on their platforms. Welcome as they are, however many moderators the social networks hire, the idea that they can provide full protection for children is no more realistic than suggesting that we place police officers on the corner of every street.

In a recent seminar on smart vehicles, one delegate raised his hand and asked the OEMs on the panel, “I want a connected vehicle with all the benefits, but I don’t want you to know where I am”. To which came the reply, “buy a ‘67 Mustang”.